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"Inspiration Online"
by
Terri Main
by
Terri Main
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"And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it"(Colossians 2:15)
I heard a great line on a regular secular television show tonight,
One of the characters was commenting on a ministry which had become corrupt and said, "Well, I was raised in church and there is one thing I learned. And that is that God never let's the devil steal the show."
There is some real truth in that statement. Sometimes I think we as
Christians overestimate the power of Satan. Certainly, he has power,
but our God has more power. We do not have to cower in a corner afraid of the enemy. We can put on our armour and march confidently into battle against him.
Why should we be frightenid of the power of evil? We have living inside us the power of God in Christ Jesus. In fact, the Bible says that we are hid with Christ in God. (Col, 3,3) Talk about protection. The very one that defeated Satan on the cross, and the one that raised Jesus from the dead are both standing between us and him.
Christians are not dualists. We do not believe in two opposite, but
equal forces at work in the world. We believe in the forces of Good and Evil, but they are not equal. The struggle between them has been fierce, but the matching has been unfair, because at the end of every battle God is the winner.
There was a popular song in church circles about 20 years ago. It said in part, "I read the back of the Book and we win!" There is no question about the outcome of this battle. One day soon, the heavens will roll back as a scroll, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will ride in on a white horse, we will be following Him and watch as all darkness disappears in the presence of the unveiled brightness of the living God.
It'll be a real show stopper, no matter what things look like during the early acts.
Lord, thank You for being my soon coming King and giving to me your strength and power to hold the enemy at bay until your return. Amen.
God Will Use Us!
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound thee wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" (1 Cor I :27 KJV)
"And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are:" (1 Cor I :28 KJV)
"That no flesh should glory in his presence." (1 Cor I :29 KJV)
When I was in my first year in college, I spoke to a youth group at church on the subject of "God's Tool Box" and I used this scripture as my text. (I have to admit that I stole the title from a similar
identification in The Thompson Chain Reference-Bible.) This is a hopeful passage for those of us who wish to be used of God. Look at the ones that God wants to use: the foolish, the weak, the base, the
worthless, and my favorite, the despised.
Have you ever felt that you were despised by others? Have you ever felt that you were discounted or treated as worthless by people around you? Sad to say, this can even happen in "Christian" circles.
Well, if you have ever been put down, demeaned, despised, I have good news for you -- You are a candidate for greatness in God's kingdom! He wants to use you. You may not believe that. You might have been told all your life that you are worthless; that you will amount to nothing; that you shouldn't even have been born. You may even believe these things. It doesn't matter. God has a place of honor for you in his tool box.
You see, God knows that broken people make the best ministers. Those who have hurt deeply are the ones who will care deeply for the hurts of others. Those who have been stung by the darts of despite are the ones who can best turn aside those darts from another. God needs people like that to minister in ways that those who have experienced unqualified acceptance all their lives cannot. So, no matter what others have said or will say about you, even if you have been despised, God has a message for you, and it's this: "Show up for work today, I have a job that only you can do."
Lord, remind me that my value comes not from other's opinions of me, but from my relationship with you. Amen
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